The invention relates to roll assemblies for use in calenders, rolling mills and like machines. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements in roll assemblies of the type disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,843 granted Jul. 21, 1987 to Dieter Junk et al.
The roll assembly of Junk et al. has a stationary carrier which is surrounded by a hollow cylindrical shell. The shell is movable radially relative to the carrier and is driven by a set of gears including a driver gear in a support or housing and a driven gear on the shell. The support is movable relative to the carrier radially of the shell in order to ensure that the two gears remain in mesh while the position of the shell with reference to the carrier changes. To this end, the position of the shell is monitored by a sensor which transmits signals to an adjusting device for the support. The adjusting device employs a hydrostatic cylinder and piston unit. The patented roll assembly can be used in connection with the treatment of paper, textiles, plastics, metallic sheets and the like. In addition, the patented roll assembly can be used in transporting systems for webs or sheets of flexible material.
Published German patent application No. 37 11 856 of Link et al. proposes to employ a counterweight which is connected to the support at one end of the roll shell by a cable to compensate for the weight of the support and for the weight of parts which are carried thereby.